IRONMAN JOURNEY

Ironman California

By: Steve Shepherd

BACKGROUND

I first experienced the Ironman in 1982 while watching the famed collapse of Julie Moss a hundred yards from the Ironman Hawaii finish. I watched her try to walk, stumble, and crawl her way to the finish. This left a very lasting image in the mind of 12-year-old boy. At that point I knew that someday I would attempt to do an Ironman. The interesting thing about my goal was that I did not swim or bike in the next 18 years. Instead I played football, baseball, and wrestled in high school. Played college football and after college competed in a few bodybuilding competitions. While I maintained a good fitness base it was not geared towards distance events. I decided on a whim to train for and run a marathon with three months of training. I completed that first marathon with a lot of pain and continued to run marathons. I qualified for the Boston Marathon during my second marathon and have run seven marathons since 1997. In August of 1999 a triathlete friend of mine told me he registered for Ironman California and that 40 slots were still open but would fill by the end of the day. I decide to pay the $350 registration fee and the next thing I knew I had started my Ironman Journey.

At this point I had done two sprint triathlons in my life. One on a mountain bike and both with little to no swim training. In both of the triathlons I swam water polo style with my head above water. This swimming style was not going to cut it in the Ironman so I had better learn to swim. The first time a got into the pool (Mid Sept.) I could not swim 10 laps without stopping. It was not my fitness level as much as I felt I could not breathe properly. I read up on swimming technique and continued to plug away. I added distance to my training ½ mile, 1 mile, 1 1/2mile and so on. I was able to swim freestyle for greater distance but I am at best a slow swimmer.

The swim was my greatest fear going into the training and ultimately the race itself. I was not as worried about the bike yet I did not own a bike and had not biked more than 15 miles in my life, before signing up for the Ironman. I bought a $500 Giant Road bike and an indoor training and away I went. I rode 5-6 days a week for 1-2 hours a night. I added longer rides on Saturday’s building up to 5-6 hours at a time. Because of the weather the past winter I rode almost exclusively indoors. While the training was boring it was consistent, and in hindsight I believe it made me mentally stronger. Training outside in Lynchburg hills had me confident that the Ironman California bike course could not be as tough as my local training area. I felt I was prepared to average between 19-20 MPH race day.

I was not worried about the run because of my marathon background but then again I never ran a marathon after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike. During my training I did run the Boston Marathon in 2:57 so I believed my running was in good shape. I was a bit worried my legs would not recover quickly being that Boston was a month earlier than the race itself but my legs came around after a day or two.

After eight months of training I guess I was ready to go. I rented a condo in California and my family (wife, 2 boys) were excited about the trip. Some how I was naïve or stupid enough to believe that if I could finish in 10 hrs 30 mins I might qualify for Hawaii. My goals were:

Swim 1:20

Bike 5:30

Run 3:30

Transitions 10 min

RACE DAY

I night before the race I slept great. My friend, who talked me into this, and I went to the transition area about 5:45. Body marking was cool and the last minute bike check and potty stops were nerve racking. I am a real confident person but felt a bit worried about the bike. All the bikes on the racks were Softrides, Kestrel, Trek, Cannondale, etc… $1000,$2000, and $3000 bikes. I had my trusty $500 Giant. My thought before seeing all the other bikes was it is about the engine (me) and not the bike. I started to wonder if maybe it was more about the bike. They made the call for athletes to enter the water so it was show time.

SWIM

The IMCAL swim course is in a harbor used by the US Marines for amphbisis assualt training. The beginning is in deep water in which you have to tread water prior to the start. It is a two-loop course with the first turnaround point being in open ocean water. The waves and current get pretty strong at this point. I got in the water about 6:50 for what was supposed to be a 7:00 start. They had trouble getting everyone in the water so the real start was at 7:10. Twenty minutes of treading water in the event that scared me the most. I stayed relaxed even though it felt like my face and legs were in a bowl of ice water. Water Temp 59. The cannon went off and so did I. I felt real good considering the cold water and that I was being swum over, kicked, and pushed. As I neared the first turnaround the colder ocean water was coming into the water and waves had picked up. As you swam up a wave you would then experience a drop on the other side in which the next wave smacked you in the face. But I was having fun… after all I was doing an Ironman. The second loop was much like the first uneventful except for the occasional person using me as a surfboard. I felt I was right on track with my goal time and was shocked when I exited the water in 1:44:xx. How could that be I felt great and was not tired. At that point I saw my wife and kids cheering my on and my only thought was I am finished my first Ironman swim how awesome. I decided to stay relaxed enjoy the day. Who wants to go to Hawaii anyway.

BIKE

Transition went smooth and away I went. If felt great to be on the bike and out of the cold water. (20 people were treated for Hypothermia after the swim - one person was hospitalized).

I could not stop thinking about my cheap bike but kept thinking it is about the engine not the bike. In the first 15 miles I passed 109 people. Being that almost everyone was out of the water before me I had a lot of people to pass. I continued to pass people and it was a good feeling to see people on their expensive bikes do a double take at my cheap bike as I would pass them. The bike course was a two-loop course. The elements on the bike proved to be the most interesting of the day. The temp was about 60 degrees in the beginning of the bike and climbed to 85 degrees as you proceeded inland. The hills began on the backside of the course in the heat. After the hills you came to a 15 mile flat section all of it was into a 13 mph headwind. As you came around for the second loop the temperature dropped again to about 65 degrees as you repeated the heat, hills, and headwind. I continued to eat and drink on the bike felt good and was confident. There are some major hills on this bike course. I underestimated the hills. About ¼ of the participants actually walked their bikes up the hills. I mashed my way to the top of all the hills and was glad I had trained in Lynchburg. Going up the first and biggest hill my profile bars fell of my bike. I had to gather the pieces together and carry them with my. Luckily for me at the top the hill a bike repair van was there and they helped me get the areo bars back on. Just before the second hill my chain fell off. I got off the bike and fixed this little problem also. Maybe those expensive bikes are worth the money?? I did the second loop with a few interesting occurrences. But once again I tried to enjoy the day. I had passed about 500 people on the bike so I pretty pleased. I was happy to get off my bike after 6:30:xx. It was now time to run.

RUN

I started the run a little excited and ran a 7:05 min first mile. Time to slow down. I eased into a 7:50 pace for the next couple of miles. At this point I was real tired and wanted to walk. I knew that the condo I had rented was at about mile 5 of the run and my goal was to run to the condo kiss my wife and kids and take a walking break. After I saw my family I felt great and decide to run half the marathon and then take some walking breaks. At the halfway point I knew I was going to be an Ironman. Even if I had to walk the remaining 13 miles. I decided to walk though the aid stations as that seemed to be the advice I had read on some websites. I walked the aid stations for the next 10 miles but continued at about and 8:00 min pace when I ran. I was passing a lot of people and felt really good. In hindsight I should have continued to run through the aid stations but the cautious approach was good. I saw my wife again about mile 20 and told her to go to the finish line. I felt great and ran the last 3 miles strong. My wife got to about 500 yards to the finish line and my 5 year old son was running by my side. This for my was a great experience I kicked in another gear and finished with a smile on my face. Time 3:42:xx. I ended up with the 143 best marathon time out of the 1500 athletes, which I am real proud of. I passed another 400 people on the run to finish 512 out of 1500.

POST RACE

I felt great after the race and the next day I went to Sea World with the family. I now believe that the Ironman Journey is in the training and the race is the reward. If you train smart and consistent you can become an Ironman. I was happy to find out that the swim course was measured incorrectly and that we all swam 2.8 miles instead of 2.4. I guess that make me an Ironman Plus??? It goes to figure that the my weak link, the swim, would be long portion. I am excited to do another Ironman. I think if I work more on the swim and don’t have mechincal bike failures and improve a little in the bike and run maybe just maybe Hawaii is possible. I would like to thank my wife Tamara, my sons Alec and Gavin, for their support and Chris Bright for the use of his bike case. (Hugh cost savings).

Thanks for reading my rambling.

Steve